Baby Callie

Callie is doing very well! She is 5 days old today! As with many preemies and even full term babies, Callie’s bilirubin levels increased and she required phototherapy on Friday. Her levels returned to normal very quickly, though, and the lights were removed Saturday morning.

Due to the c-section and some of the medications I’ve been taking, my body has been slow to produce breastmilk. We don’t want to hold Callie back from eating, so she was started on Enfamil Preemie Formula Friday afternoon. My supply has increased slowly over the past couple of days, so she is now getting mostly breastmilk. She has done very well with her bottles! She is able to eat many of her bottles by herself. However, since she is so small and runs out of energy quickly, a nasal gastric (NG) tube has been placed through her nose to help her finish her bottles. As with all newborns, Callie’s weight dropped slightly after birth (down to 2lb, 8oz), but she has quickly made it up and now weighs 1200g, up from her birthweight of 1180g.

Callie is still in an isolette to help her maintain her body temperature. She is doing so well that the isolette temperature is set at its lowest temperature. She will probably stay in the isolette longer than she needs so she doesn’t have to work so hard and burn energy to maintain her own temperature.

So far, Callie’s experience has been very different from Henry’s. Our emotions and thoughts are in different places this time. Fear and the unknown have been replaced with knowledge, confidence, and directed questions. Callie has come to us as an “older” and healthier baby. We are aware of the possible risks Callie may still face and we also know what needs to be done for her to make progress. The staff at Rex has been great! The neonatologists talk with us almost daily and are always available via pager if we have any questions. Since we have had a preemie birth before, I think it is much easier for us and the staff to speak freely in great lengths about the best care for Callie. Often, there may be varying opinions on medical care provided to preemies, and we have been happy with the approach and direction the team at Rex has taken with Callie. And as expected, we have been a part of that process.

Today, we talked about fortifying my breastmilk. It is common practice to fortify breastmilk with other formula to provide additional nutrients as well as additional calories to help with weight gain, especially with babies born IUGR. There has been some debate about when and what type of formula to supplement with. We want to make sure that changes are not made too quickly and possibly disrupt Callie’s digestive system as well as ensure that the formula used to fortify is the best pick for Callie. Callie’s volumes are slowly increasing, as tolerated, to bring her intake up to achieve maximum growth. Formula supplementation will likely occur in the next day or so.